After evaluating the top health insurance companies, Investopedia found that Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) provides the best Marketplace plans for unemployed people, with low🍬 premiums across a range of plan types, including the best costs for Catastrophic plans.
If you’ve lost your job, you can apply for a plan through the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Health Insurance Marketplace at any time of the year because you’re eligible for a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:special enrollment period. We created this list to highlight insurers that provide𒉰 b🐲asic plans with low monthly costs, those that offer at least some plans that provide coverage before you’ve met your deductible, and companies that excel at customer satisfaction.
Best Health Insurance Companies for Unemployed People
- Best Overall, Best for Catastrophic Plans: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Best for Bronze Plans: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
- Best for Expanded Bronze Plans: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Kaiser Permanente
- Best for Silver Plans: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Ambetter Health
- Best for Customer Satisfaction: Aetna
Best Overall, Best for Catastrophic Plans : Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
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- Avg. premium for a 30-year-old (Bronze plan): $342
- Avg. annual deductible a 30-year-old (Bronze plan): $9,140
- Customer complaints: As many as expected for company size
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield offers some of the most attractive options for unemployed people looking to keep their monthly premiums low in exchange for higher deductibles and copays. It does this across several 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:plan categories that maဣy appeal to you when you’re out of a job.
Relatively low co💮sts across several kinds of plans
Lowest premiums for Bronze plans
Best premiuꦛms and cost-value sc🦂ore for Catastrophic coverage
Strong ratings for mobile app
Only available in 14 states
No PPO plans on the ACA Marketplace
Anthem’s Bronze plans have the lowest premiums of all the major insurers we researched. Bronze is one type of plan offered under the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Affordable Care Act (ACA). It features lower premiums than other ACA plan types but with higher 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:deductibles (the amount you pay for care out of pocket before coverage kicks in) and 🍷less coverage when you need care. That means you’ll pay more out of pocket when you see a doctor or go to the hospital.
For even lower premiums and higher deductibles, Anthem’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Catastrophic plan is also a winner for those who qualify. The Catastrophic premiums and cost-value score (an Investopedia measure that weighs average premiums, deductibles, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:out-of-pocket maximums) are the best our team unearthed. Catastrophic coverage may make sense for people who are healthy and don’t expect to visit a doctor during the year, but want to be covered in case they need expensive treatment. To qualify, you must be under age 30 or be granted a hardship exemption.
Catastrophic plans are not eligible for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:premium tax credits, which are federal subsidies that help cover the cost of insurance for people whose income falls below a certain level. Before you sign up for a Catastrophic plan, check to see if you qualify for tax credits with a less bare-bones plan that could make your monthly costs low🦋er than if you get a Catastrophic plan.
If you want the lower out-of-pocket costs (澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:copays and coinsurance) th൩at come with a Silver plan, Anthem has attractive premiums for those as well. And its highly rated Sydney Health app can help you manage your h🌸ealth care and policy.
The main downside to Anthem is that it only offers Marketplace plans in 1ꦛ4 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Also, Anthem doesn’t offer 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:preferred ♓provider organization (PPO) plans on state or federal marketplaces—only 澳洲ꦆ幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:health maiꦅntenance organization (HMO) plans and exclusive provider organization (EPO) plans, which co🃏ver care from fewer health care providers.&nb🌳sp;
Marketplace plans are the only ones eligible for subsidies in the form of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:premium tax credits or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cost-sharing reductions (CSRs). To be eligible for CSRs, you must enroll in a Silver plan and meet other income requirements.
Anthem is part of Elevance Health, whic🌌h is based in Indianapolis. While Anthem is a BCBS licensee, we reviewed it as a separate company because the two compete in some markets.
Best for Bronze Plans : Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
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Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- Avg. premium for a 30-year-old (Bronze plan): $418
- Avg. annual deductible a 30-year-old (Bronze plan): $7,784
- Customer complaints: Fewer than expected for company size
Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) delivers more value for the buck than other Bronze plan providers. It doesn’t have the lowest Bronze premiums, but it has a more attractive deductible than Anthem’s. Also, plans may offer some coverage before you meet your deductible, lowering your out-of-pocket costs. A Bronze plan may be right for you if you are relatively young and healthy and don’t take prescriptio💝n medications.
Bronze plans have the best cost-to-value score
A few Bronze plans cover som⛦e ജcosts before deductible
Marketplace plans available in 32 states and D.C.
Good complaint record
High premiums for Catastrophic coverage
Expensive Silver plans
Most Bronze plan providers don’t offer any coverage before you meet your deductible. But 19% of BCBS Bronze plans on Healthcare.gov do share some of the costs of primary care visits with you. And 12% share some speci👍alist care costs. The average annual deductible for BCBS Bronze plans for a 30-year-old is also about $1,300 lower than Anthem’s, which could be important if you en𒐪d up needing expensive care during the year.
BCBS is available in 3𓆏2 states and Washington, D.C., but since it’s actually a group of companies, your experience might vary depending on your location and insurer. Overall, ho♕wever, state regulators received fewer complaints about BCBS than expected, given its size.
If you’re looking for a Catastrophic plan or Silver plan, you’d be bettಌer off shopping around. BCBS costs fo🔯r those types of plans are high on average.
Blue Cross Blue Shield was founded in 1929 an🧸d is based in Chicago.
Best for Expanded Bronze Plans : Kaiser Permanente
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Kaiser Permanente
- Avg. premium for a 30-year-old (Expanded Bronze plan): $359
- Avg. annual deductible a 30-year-old (Expanded Bronze plan): $7,274
- Customer complaints: Fewer than expected for company size
Kaiser Permanente has the lowest premiums for Expanded Bronze plans among the insurers we surveyed—in ♏fact, the average premium for a 30-year-old is smaller than many competitors’ average Bronze plan premiums. That could be partly 🌠due to the fact that Kaiser mostly offers HMOs, which usually have lower premiums than PPOs. Expanded Bronze plans are similar to Bronze plans but may cover more services before you meet your deductible.
Lowest avg. premiums for Expanded Bronze plans
Lowest ༺maximum out-of๊-pocket limits for Expanded Bronze plans
Highly rated mobile app
Highest deductible for Expanded Bronze plans
No PPOs on the ACA Marketplace
Only available in eight states and Washington,🐽 D.C.
Kaiser’s Expanded Bronze plans have the best monthly prices and annual out-of-pocket limits of all the insurers we researched. The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:maximum out-of-pocket (MOOP) limit tells you how much you must pay ea🌟ch year before the plan begins full coverage, relieving you🎐 of copays. The lower the MOOP, the better for your wallet.
An Expanded Bronze plan may be right for yo𝓡u if you are relatively young and healthy but want to be sure you’re covered for some care, such as preventive care, throughout the year. Preventive car💃e is often covered with Expanded Bronze plans, but be sure to read the policy details when you are shopping.
Kaiser is🗹 only available in eight states and Washington, D.♕C. The states are California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington.
Kaiser does offer an indi💛vidual PPO plan, but the company is primarily an HMO provider. So𒉰 if you care a lot about sticking with your own doctor or choosing any new ones you may need to see, you may be better off with a different carrier that offers more PPOs.
Kaiser Permanente is a managed care company founded in 1945 in Oakland, California. Today, it’s evolved into three arms that coordinate closely with each other: the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health 𒀰Plan, the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and the Permanente Medical Groups. The health plan, hospitals, and medical groups work together to offer integrated care.
Best for Silver Plans : Ambetter Health
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Ambetter Health
- Avg. premium for a 30-year-old (Silver plan): $451
- Avg. annual deductible a 30-year-old (Silver plan): $5,126
- Customer complaints: Many more than expected for company size
When it comes to Silver plans, Ambetter Health delivers the best value for the cost, with low average premiums and out-of-pocket maximums. Silver plans are the most popular category of ACA health insurance, and consumers who are eligible for cost-sharing reductions must choose Silver to get the extra savings on deduc꧂tibles and copays.
Best overall costs for Silver plans
Available in 29 states
Offers PPOs, HMOs, and EPOs
Poor complaint record
No Catastrophic plans
Silver plans have slightly higher premiums than Expanded Bronze or Bronze plans and cover more routine care. They’🎃re best for people who can pay more on a monthly basis, especially those who expect to need more than a little bit of preventive care during the year. Ambetter offers Silver PPOs and HMOs.
While Ambetter’s Silver premiums and MOOPs are low, its deductibles are relatively high. Deductibles and premiums usually are inversely rel🐻ated—if one is 🐠high, the other is low.
There are two other negatives to note about Ambetter. The 🔯first is its poor complaint record. Over a three-year period, state regulators received more than twice as many customer complaints about Ambetter than other companies of its size. That’s a sign it has customer satisfaction problems.
Secondly, it has no Catastrophic plans on the Marketplace, so if you’re looking for ultra-low premiums and don’🐻t qualify for government subsidies, you’𒅌ll need to look elsewhere.
Ambetter Health was started in 2014 by Centene Corporation to cater to the Health Insurance Marketplace. Centene is a Fortune 500 company and integrated health care enterprise with more than 30 years of experience in managed cཧare.
Best for Customer Satisfaction : Aetna
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Aetna
- Avg. premium for a 30-year-old (Expanded Bronze plan): $461
- Avg. annual deductible a 30-year-old (Expanded Bronze plan): $3,312
- Customer complaints: Far fewer than expected for company size
Aetna has the best complaint record of the nine companies we researched for this list. State regulators received far fewer complaints than you would expect for a company of Aetna’s size. So while Aetna’s costs are generally high, if you want a company that makes satisfying customers a priority and you live in one of the 17 states where Aetna 😼offers Marketplace plans, it may be the provider for you.
Be༺st complaint record of the companies we surveyed
Low deductibles for Expanded Bronze plans
Offers PPOs, HMOs, and EPOs
Very high premiums for Expanded Bronze plans
Terrible pricing for Silver plans
No Catastrophic plans
Only has Marketplace plans in 17 states
Aetna’s premiums for Expanded Bronze plans are among the highest of its competitors. But on the other hand, deductibles are low, with the average for a 30-year-old being only $3,312. That’s about half of the average Expanded Bron💞ze deductible Kaiser offers. So, with Aetna, a 30-year-old could pay about $100 more every month than they would with Kaiser, but meet their deductible after $3,312 in spending rather than $7,274 with Kaiser. That’s really important if yo✅u have (or expect to have) a lot of medical costs for the year.
We would recommend staying away from Aetna’s Silver plans, though, because their average premiums and deductibles are both high.🍎 Anꩵd Aetna doesn’t offer Catastrophic plans at all.
Aetna off♛ers PPOs, HMOs, and EPOs on Marketplace plans but you may only find Aetna HMOs or EPOs for Expanded Bronze plans. Its Expanded Bronze plans have names such as Aetna Bronze 4 Advanced, which ma🦩y sound like it’s a Bronze plan but it’s actually Expanded Bronze.
Aetna sells Mar🎃ketplace plans in 17 states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia. Aetna was founded in 1853 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut. Its name is inspired by Sicily’s Mt. Etna, the mos🌸t active volcano in Europe.
Why You Should Trust Us
Investopedia’s staff researchers, editors, and writers work for the consumer, not the insurance companies. We gather and rigorously weigh large data sets to determine which companies are the best. Even though we might get paid if you click certain links, it doesn’t affect how we rate insurance companies. Investopedia has been a trusted source of financial information since 1999, and has hel🎐ped readers find the best health insurance companies since 2019.
How We Chose the Bes𒅌t Health Insurance Companies for the Unemployed
Investopedia’s rankings of the best health insurance companies for unemployed people are based on Investopedia’s independent research into nine providers offering plans through the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:ACA Health Insurance Marketplace and state health insurance marketplaces. We evaluated coverage, customer satisfaction,🐈 nationwide availability, and costs, with a particular focus on the types of plans that tend to have low premiums: Bronze, Expanded Bronze, and Catastrophic. We looked at Silver plans too, which are eligible for the most types of subsidies and so may have even cheaper costs than the lower-tiered plans.
Investopedia staff editors and researchers chose the nine companies in our review based on market share, enrollment trends, and availability. Investopedia’s research for this ranking was conducted from Oct. 24 to Nov. 8, 2024. We collected 423 data points across nine companies from the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace, state marketplaces, the ꧅Na♓tional Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index, and company webs🃏ites and representatives.
We used this data to create our scoring model for evaluating each company based on criteria that fall into four categories that we think are important for people trying to keep expeꦺnses low while looking for a job. We w♛eighted those categories as follows:
- Costs: 62%
- Customer service and satisfaction: 15%
- Plan types offered: 13%
- Nationwide availability: 10%
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